The Dying Age

Prince of Shadows

The Prince of Shadows is a trickster whose exploits reshape the world nearly as often as they redistribute its wealth. He has squandered the riches of the dwarves, murdered the hopes of a dragon, and plundered the dreams of a god. His exploits have changed the world, but none can tell you his ultimate goals or motives. Your attitude toward the Prince of Shadows depends on how you feel about anarchy, and perhaps how you feel about anarchy happening to you.

Not everyone believes there is a Prince of Shadows. This works out extremely well for the Prince. He doesn’t care about getting credit for his exploits. Consequently, there are places where he’s blamed for every major theft, and other places where he’s viewed as an invention of the Thieves’ Guilds to cover their tracks.

Adventurers sometimes work for the Prince of Shadows without ever knowing it. In some sense, anyone who accepts one of his gifts is doing the Prince’s work. Other adventurers like the Prince’s style and aim to further his schemes, but that’s a shifty path and what works for an icon can often as not walk an adventurer into a wall of swords.

The Diabolist has profited from certain of the Prince’s “transactions,” but the Priestess, at least, believes that the Prince stole more from the Diabolist than the Diabolist suspects. Who can say?

The Dwarf King has offered a king’s-ransom in platinum for the Prince of Shadows’ head, but no one knows why. The Archmage has tried to retrieve certain stolen artifacts from the Prince, but hasn’t claimed success in the endeavor.

Shadowy figures appear on the margins of official histories. Some of these mysterious figures are previous incarnations of the Prince of Shadows in other guises with other names. One things’s certain: if the Prince of Shadows ever ends up leading the forces of evil, it’s going to be bad news.